Seriously, have you ever wanted spring more?!

Longer, warmer days. The heat of the sun. You don’t even need to move; just being in the presence of the sights, sounds and smells of the most promising of the four seasons is enough.

Spring is change. The dormancy of winter foliage and fauna transitioning into life, growth and hope. Surely, we all prefer green rather than brown. Warmth over cold. Outside rather than inside. Bright colours and light over the dullness of monochrome and darkness.

Even the word “spring” brings to mind a jump, a bounce, a trampoline, a catapult. To “spring into action!” Leaving a present state and propelling into a future state. And, boy, do we want to leave the present state of affairs impacting our planet and community!

The Gutenberg printing press is widely recognized as one of the greatest inventions of humankind. In short, the printing press enabled humans to share large amounts of information with a large amount of people. For adults reading this blog post, you will know that print materials were the primary source of information growing up and for centuries before you.

Not today.

Approximately 18 months ago, I asked the entire Senior School student body how many people had read the newspaper that morning. Not a single hand was raised. “Ugh,” I thought to myself at the time. Fifty years ago, at least 50 hands would have been raised. After all, newspapers were delivered to dorm rooms before the sun rose.

One of the more interesting features of the last 12 months has been the increase in “city folk” interested in “country living.” This can be measured, in part, by a surge in real estate sales and prices. Within a three-hour radius of Toronto, in particular, demand is up and housing and cottage prices having increased by approximately 30% in the Kawartha Lakes, Quinte and Simcoe Districts. Apparently even house sales in the four provinces that make up our east coast (Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island) have increased between 9% and 15%.

Twelve months ago, I stopped watching U.S. televised news. I am on the verge of taking the same approach with the Canadian news that streams through my TV. For extended periods of time now, in both countries, there has been what seems to be a singular focus on the vast majority of network news reports. In the U.S. it was about the election and the former president’s actions; in Canada, it is keenly focussed on our country’s efforts with respect to the acquisition and distribution of vaccines to deal with COVID-19.

Of course, both issues are of monumental significance in and to their respective countries. But, to me, every day it felt like a new crisis on the same issue. Every day, there is something else to worry about. Someone else to blame. All negative. Frankly, I began to find it demoralizing. And, I know others did too, but many kept watching. And, inevitably, we all just kept talking about it.